Bridgestone e6 Review: My Favorite Golf Ball Under $30?
Update on Bridgestone e6 April 2019:
When I first wrote this review of the Bridgestone e6 five years ago, I was really impressed with the performance, especially relative to it’s price.
It helped minimize my slices, and while it’s certainly no magic bullet (no ball is), it performs really well relative to it’s peers.
Now in 2019, having played with every iteration of the ball since it first came out, they continue to consistently make a good ball.
Let’s be real, the average person won’t be able to tell the difference between the current model or the one from a couple years ago.
But even all these years later, when people ask me what the best ball is under $30, the Bridgestone e6 is usually my answer.
(If you’re looking for balls under $20, I recommend checking out the Noodle.)
I’d also take a look at our full rundown of the best golf balls on the market right now. It’ll be a great resource in helping you find the right ball for your game.
It’s also my go to if I’m in a pinch and need to buy balls at a club that are going to be full retail. For my game, they’ll perform well, and while I’m at the point now where I do notice some differences in tour balls like the Pro V1s or the Tour B – I still play many of my rounds with the e6 – and I think you should too.
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I’ve been on the hunt to find the perfect golf ball for my game, for quite some time.
The problem is I have one of the most erratic games out there (don’t we all think that).
After shooting an 82 and 83 a couple weeks ago, I’ve had 5 rounds in the high nineties recently, as my slice has come back it’s killed my confidence.
So finding a ball that helps me on my off days, while allows me to excel on my good days is no easy task.
Historically I’ve played NXT Tours and Pro V1x’s. The Pro V1x’s are great when I’m playing well. I have all the feel I need on the greens, and the ball flies great. However when I’m slicing it, the ball doesn’t compress as much, and I’m left with a ton of sidespin that just causes the ball to slice even more.
This is frustrating to say the least, and doesn’t help to build my confidence back up after a couple off rounds.
Enter the Bridgestone e6.
To be honest I’ve spent very little time with Bridgestone balls until recently, and I’ve gotta admit, I’m glad my buddy Scott (who knows much more about golf ball tech than I do), turned me on to them.
The goal of the e6 is to reduce spin to help minimize the misses on errant shots, while still being soft enough to give you control around the greens.
First Impressions of the Bridgestone e6 Golf Ball
Upon first picking up a Bridgestone e6 my initial thought was, “what’s with all of the dual dimples”?
The e6 basically has dimples within its dimples that is supposed to reduce drag to promote higher ball speeds.
It looks a little weird, but after hitting one shot with my driver I was pretty impressed – it felt much softer than other balls at a similar price point, and my first shot off the tee went straight as an arrow – something I hadn’t experienced in a few rounds.
Bridgestone e6 Performance
For the purposes of this article, I went out and played 9 holes with multiple balls including the e6, Tour B RXs, and ProV1x.
It was interesting to play these balls back to back and be conscious of the differences between them.
Whenever I hit a Pro V1 well it feels effortless and like the ball just pops off the club face. Interestingly, I seemed to get that same feeling with the e6 on a more regular basis. I still had a bit of a fade on most shots, but the super errant misses were definitely minimized.
If you’re looking at the marketing the Pro V1 should have given me more distance on a well struck ball than the e6s, but I actually found them to be really comparable. This was made most clear on a 292 drive on the uphill par 4 13th at Aspen Lakes in Bend – with the e6.
Sure the course is at a relatively high elevation, but that showed me the potential this ball really has.
Around the green I do notice it’s definitely not quite up to par with the Pro V1x’s that I’m used to – but being completely honest I’m not quite at the point where that’s a deal breaker.
I’d much rather be in the fairway and not be able to stop the ball on a dime, than have to punch out every time like I do with tour balls on my off days.
Final Thoughts on the Bridgestone e6
Overall I was extremely impressed with the Bridgestone e6 – and will be my go to ball for as long as I need to straighten out my shots.
I really hope more people give it a chance. With golf balls there’s a bit of an ego game, and a lot of people think if their not playing Pro V1s then they aren’t as cool…or something.
If you’re a double digit handicapper, do your golf game and your wallet a favor and give the Bridgestone e6 a chance.
Try the Bridgestone e6 for yourself here.
Quick Note About the Bridgestone Tour B
After my 89 at Aspen I hit the driving range for a few hours and worked out some of the kinks in my swing.
I headed back to Central Oregon for the weekend to look at wedding venues, and found myself back out at Aspen. I had a sleeve of the Tour B RX balls and figured I’d give them a shot for a full round.
Wow.
The Tour B RX is Bridgestone’s tour ball for amateur swing speeds (under 105mph). I was seriously impressed. It had the same feel as the e6, but had a little bit more length and better feel around the green.
That 292 par 4? Got up to 300 the second time. And while I certainly won’t say it was all the balls, I did shoot an 81 which is one of the better rounds I’ve had in awhile.
Grab a dozen Bridgestone Tour B RX on Amazon
Other Golf Balls to Consider:
- Vice Golf Ball Review: This is a Tour level ball at an amateur level price. It may not be quite as forgiving as the Bridgestones, but is worth checking out.
- Noodle Golf Balls Review: These aren’t quite as good as the Bridgestones, but I think they’re the best cheap golf balls out there, so it’s worth taking a look.
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Good Things
- Minimizes slice tendencies
- Extremely soft
- Price is right
Bad Things
- Dual dimples a little weird
- Not quite as much control around greens as B330 or ProV1
All you need to use is the Srixon q-Star (Yellow) or possibly the z-star if you swing faster than 95mph.
Bet you will break 80 with either one of those golf balls.
The Pro V1x is to much golf ball for you which is why your getting all kinds of side spin.
I agree with his assessment, one has to have a swing speed over 95 to be able to consistenly play the ProV1, Tour players use because they are not concerned about swing speed but its greenside and 100 yds out that concerns them with greens running at 10-14 on the stimp meter. I see players all the time using Pro Vs who can’t break 90 or even a 100, because of the super soft cover it will spin, which is intended for around the green ie stopping power, but it also translate into side spin on all other clubs.